Asperger's: Does it matter if you have it?

[Hailey Knight]

I never considered myself to be someone with disorders of any kind, however, I overheard my mother telling my wife that when I was a kid, they though I might have Asperger's, but they never took me in to get tested or anything (probably lack of money; my brother had bigger problems).

So it got me thinking--yeah, I do match that profile a lot. I kind of just thought I was weird. Granted, I matched it much more when I was a kid, before I turned 18 and decided I needed to change my personality into someone I liked being. There are still similarities.

That said, I'm not a medical professional and I'm not so full of myself to self-diagnose. However, my question is, if I did have Asperger's, does it matter? I don't want to spend money going to a professional and finding out if it's not an issue. I'm very much a "if you don't got it, fake it" type of person, so I can pretend confidence in conversations, and try not to feel too awkward in other circumstances. I also have a wife who puts up with my difficulties, while I help with her psychological issues.

So hypothetically if I were to have it, and can feign normalcy long enough until I get a chance to breathe and calm down from talking to people, does it matter?

 

[sixpackshaker]

Once you are a fully formed adult, I don't really think it matters to get a diagnosis (label.) If you are very uncomfortable in social situations, you may want to seek help with that issue. I personally feel it is more important to find these things out when people are school aged. Then only use the diagnosis to guide placement and treatment for the child.

 

[Tinwhistler]

it doesn't matter.

My son has Asperger's. I wouldn't care to get him diagnosed/labeled at all except that having the label means that teachers who might give him grief for some of his difficult-to-manage behaviors will cut him some slack. As an adult, that label is more limiting that helping, though, so I was really torn for a long time about having him officially diagnosed.

 

[Dei]

It's not worth getting diagnosed officially unless you are actually seeking some kind of treatment /therapy. (Or if you are an attention whore who wants more on their résumé. )

 

[PatrThom]

source

If you have actual Asperger's Syndrome, you will have difficulty with social cues and situations. However, having difficulty with social cues and situations is no guarantee that you actually have Asperger's. You might just be socially awkward.

If you ever ask yourself, "I have a few hours of free time tonight, so which of my many opportunities should I pursue?" then you probably don't have Asperger's.

--Patrick

 

[Bowielee]

Something is only a disorder if it keeps you from maintaining a full relatively normal life. For example, the difference between being a stickler for details and cleanliness and having OCD where you clean so compulsively that you ignore everything else in your life.

 

[Hailey Knight]

Thanks guys.

I guess we'll never know what was going on when I was a kid and it could've gone a lot worse. But since it didn't, it doesn't matter.

I'm not interested in treatment unless there was some kind of dire consequence comes in the future from Asperger's. I can handle my issues; they may make some situations more difficult than others, but they're not ruining my life.

 

[Yoshimickster]

From a family of almost ALL Aspergers, trust me when I say there ain't much to worry about. Your either a little bit obsessed with schedules, or a little big obsessed with some facet of pop culture. Either way, its all good.

 

[Bowielee]

From a family of almost ALL Aspergers, trust me when I say there ain't much to worry about. Your either a little bit obsessed with schedules, or a little big obsessed with some facet of pop culture. Either way, its all good.

I don't think you have Aspergers, I don't think there's a qualification for your personality, Yoshi

 

[Ravenpoe]

From a family of almost ALL Aspergers, trust me when I say there ain't much to worry about. Your either a little bit obsessed with schedules, or a little big obsessed with some facet of pop culture. Either way, its all good.

That, or your local doctor is a little quick on the diagnosis.

 

[Yoshimickster]

I don't think you have Aspergers, I don't think there's a qualification for your personality, Yoshi

Very nice compliments aside, I do have Asperger's syndrome. My parents had a straight up talk with me about it and everything. However this discounts the numerous mental evolutions I have gained since said talk in 8th grade.

That, or your local doctor is a little quick on the diagnosis.

Fun fact, my first doctor told my parents I was retarded! We stopped seeing him for obvious reasons. Oh 90s doctors, why were you so hilariously terrible?

 

[PatrThom]

Oh 90s doctors, why were you so hilariously terrible?

Too much reliance on WebMD?

--Patrick

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

I'm pretty sure no one ITT is a medical professional, so I can only advise you to talk to one

 

[Timmus]

I'm pretty sure no one ITT is a medical professional, so I can only advise you to talk to one

Or an actor who plays one on tv.

 

[Necronic]

I think it's worth pointing out that Aspegers is not a contemporary diagnosis (it was removed from the decent DSM). The new term is ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder. The reason this is important is because it's been recognized that Autism is a wide variety of conditions with a wide variety of symptoms, and the previously discreet labeling system misrepresented the conditions.

A lot of people that seem sort of autistic can be described as "Bappy", short/slang for broad autism phenotype, there are tests for this of course. A LOT of people are "Bappy", even if they are not "on the spectrum" (ASD).

You should go get tested by a properly licensed person if you are really interested, BCBA specialist are able to test (I think), but just remember that there are almost no real categories in Autism (yet), aside from a few new and very narrow genetic categories. You seem very high functioning (IQ>90) so personally I wouldn't sweat it too much, but you may have some success with a behaviorist to help with Social rules and whatnot

Source: Girlfriend is a 3rd year PhD student specializing in autism with about 7 years experience and I have to listen to her talk about this pretty often. Now go ask her how much she knows about MY work!

 

[phil]

So I work with this guy who has it. When I work with him, I try to keep it in mind for the times I need to coach him or redirect him or just for the times when he's getting on my nerves. I probably would have exploded at him by now if I didn't believe this was stuff that he didn't really have as much control over as someone else might have. It's 100% his business and I understand his not talking about it all the time but I appreciate knowing.